‘Harvest Moon’ creator’s ‘Birthdays: the Beginning’ set for U.S. launch in March

Birthdays: The Beginning, a world-building sandbox simulation game from the creator of the Harvest Moon series, will make its English-language debut in March for the PlayStation 4 and Windows PCs via Steam, publisher NIS America announced this week.

Helmed by veteran designer and director Yasuhiro Wada, Birthdays allows players to build and customize a simulated planet, with the goal being to produce a self-sustaining ecosystem.

In Birthdays: The Beginning, players are given control over a cube-shaped planet’s geography, temperature, and environmental landscape. Specific combinations of geographic elements and climates will advance the game’s storyline by attracting herds of unique creatures, including birds, crocodiles, and dinosaurs.

Each planet must be carefully balanced to account for predators and prey, however, or constructed ecosystems will quickly crumble. Much like Rare’s Viva Pinata series, gameplay in Birthdays: The Beginning requires players to carefully gauge the impact new creatures will have on the surrounding environment before they can be introduced.

In addition to predatory and herbivorous creatures, players can also produce various types of fauna, which also have an impact on local ecology. Gameplay will span a period of millions of years, starting with single-celled organisms and concluding with the rise of mammals and other advanced lifeforms.

NIS America is currently taking pre-orders for a limited-edition PlayStation 4 version of Birthdays: The Beginning that includes a collectible plush toy, a charm key chain, and a soundtrack CD, among other bundled goodies. A standard edition release for the PlayStation 4 will also hit retail next year, while the PC version will be available exclusively through digital channels.

Birthdays: The Beginning will launch first in Japan in January, and a North American release will follow on March 7. Gamers in Europe can look forward to Birthdays hitting store shelves a few days later on March 10.

Kingdom Hearts III has been leaked, with several copies of the game out in the wild. The game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, responded to the situation, calling for help from gamers to stop spoilers from spreading online.

If you've got your hands on some sweet Dolby Atmos gear, the next step is to find films that take advantage of it. These are our picks in every genre for the best Dolby Atmos movies currently available on Blu-ray and streaming services.

Red Dead Online will gradually rolled out to Red Dead Redemption 2 players via a beta. We've got all the details about the beta's suite of competitive and cooperative modes, as well as what to expect going forward.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the biggest game in the entire series, and it can be overwhelming for newcomers not used to the universe-colliding fighting game. Here's what you need to know when you're starting.

Sony's new DualShock 4 controller has become a fan favorite, and some people want to use it with a PC. Here's how to connect your DualShock 4 and start using it, either with an official adapter, or unofficial software.

Battle royale games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds’ and Fortnite have become the biggest trend in video games. The genre is also pushing the envelope in streaming and eSports in a way that might hint at the future of the industry.

Those who participated in Google's technical test of Project Stream won't be able to access the service to play Assassin's Creed Odyssey after January 15, but they'll get to keep the game on PC anyway.

The latest raid in Destiny 2: Forsaken is Scourge of the Past, and a two-person team has already managed to complete it. The task took 15 hours of trial-and-error effort before the duo managed to take down the final boss.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System might be the greatest game console ever made, but what are the best titles for the system? Here are our picks for the best SNES games, including A Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger.